Russ Rogers Quotations

We are honored to play host to the 21st running of the Jesse Owens Track Classic. This is a great event for athletes at all levels and is held in a facility named in tribute of Jesse Owens. The Classic is a great event, held in a wonderful facility, and serves as a permanent tribute to not only a tremendous athlete but a great humanitarian and sportsman.

I was very happy with the performance, particularly with the weather. I just told them not to try and do anything extra, just do as well as you could but try not to get hurt. That was our whole objective this week.

I am excited about this recruiting class. It is talented and deep on the track and in the field. I expect each of the recruits to make an immediate impact on our team and help us finish near the top of the Big Ten this year. We have a young team, but we are talented and that is what excites me the most.

We haven't put a lot of interest in trying to win the meet in the past because we have a lot of schools in Ohio. So we try and give them the chance to perform, but this year we're going all out. We're going to win the meet.

This is the best recruiting class we have had in the last three to four years. When you add this class to the athletes we have returning, we have a chance to do really well in the Big Ten. We could be in the Top 3, or possibly win the conference.

We had philosophical differences. I think Steve will have a lot of other opportunities. He's a hard worker and a good guy and I think those are the kinds of traits that get rewarded in this business.